Artificial hand



R. F. ARMSTRONG.

ARTIFICIAL HAND.

APPLICATION man 0CT.Z7,19I9.

Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

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ROBERT FRANCIS ARM$TRONG, OF LA. CYGNE, KANSAS.

ARTIFICIAL HAND.

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' Application filed October 2'7, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

lie it known that I, Bonner F. ARM- srnone, a citizen of the United States, and a resident oi La Gygne, in the county of Linn and State of Kansas, have made certain new and useful limprovements in Artilicial Hands, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to artificial body members, andv more particularly to an improved artificial hand.

An important object of my invention is to provide an artificial hand capable of performing all of the important functions of a human hand.

Another important object of my invention is to provide an improved artificial hand oi simple durable construction, reliable in operation and easy and inexpensive to manufacture.

Qther object and advantages reside in certain novel features of construction, arrange ment and combination of parts and will be come more apparent as the description proceeds reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which;

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the hand in position assumed when employed to carry baggage, buckets, or the like.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing parts of the hand about to assume position whereby the index and middle fingers may be utilized as a hook.

Referring tothe drawings it will be seen the hand member proper indicated generally at A is hollow and preferably formed oi. pressed steel or aluminum. lit may be connected to the wrist member (not shown) by any conventional means, such for instance, as a plate B and threaded stud C. The hand member proper is of course formed and shaped to approximate the appearance 0'1 the human hand.

Integral or otherwise rigidly formed with the hand member proper is a middle finger member 5. The hand proper is provided adjacent the middle finger member with an opening adapted to accommodate the inner flattened portion 6 of the index finger memher 7. The inner portion of the index finger member is mounted upon a pivot 8, the axis of which extends perpendicularly through the hand from the palm to the back thereof. The pivot, as well as the formation of the Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

Serial No. 333,710.

opening in the hand prevent any motion oi the index finger member except a swinging motion toward and away from the middle finger about the axis of the pivot 8 as defined.

blade spring 9 is adapted to normally urge the index finger member to bear against the middle finger member and for this purpose it is bowed as shown in Fig. 2, and has one end secured to the interior wall of the hand proper by means 0t rivets or the like 10, and has its other end provided with a stud 11 seated in a recess provided therefor in the adjacent inner portion of the index finger member. F or operating the index finger member to cause the same to swing away from the middle finger member against the action of the spring 9, a cord 12 is provided which. is attached to the index finger member as shown in the drawings, and is itself connected to and actuated by the body harness usually provided (not shown).

A thumb member is provided and is arranged with. respect to the hand member to approximate the arrangement of the human thumb to the human hand in all respects. It is to be noted that all of the'finger mem bers heretofore described and to be hereinafter described are arranged in this manner. 'llhe first phalanx 13 has a flattened inner portion 14 extending into the interior of the hand, and this phalanx is constrained to swing on a pivot 15 having its axis substantially parallel to the pivot 8 so that the motion oi? swing is transversely or approximately transversely to the plane of the palm of the hand. The outer phalanx 16 is joined to the inner phalanx by a pivot 17. The inner and outer phalai'iges are connected together by an interfitting tongue and groove structure indicated by 18 and 19, re

spectively. Eihoulders 20 formed on the inner phalanx and shoulders 21 formed on the outer phalanx are adapted to abut when the outer phalanx has beenswung a certain distance with respect to the inner phalanx to limit the distance or amount of this relative swing in one direction.

A blade spring 22 has one end secured to the interior wall. of the hand proper and is flexed so that its other end bears against the inner portion 1 1 of the phalanx 13, whereby the spring 22 is normally under tension and tends to swing the thumb member transversely of the hand, as indicated by the arrows in the drawings, and to resist motion in an opposite direction.

On the opposite side of the middle finger member from the thumb member is provided ring and little finger members 23 and 24 respectively, which are of unitary and rigid structure curved as shown and mounted to swing from gripping position corresponding to the position of the index and middle fingers to inoperative position against the palm of the hand. These ring and little finger members are provided with shoulders 25 and 26 which co'ciperate with corresponding shoulders on the adjacent portion of the hand proper to limit the out ward swing of the finger members to gripping position, shown in Fig. 1'.

In practice it is to be noted that when the parts of the hand are positioned as shown in Fig. 1, it may be utilized to perform any gripping function such as or analogous to carrying a suit-case or other baggage or carrying a bucket or like receptacle. When employed for this purpose it is to be noted that the handle or part of the article gripped is supported by the finger members and is primarily retained in supported position by the curve of said finger members. If, however, the thumb member is arranged as shown in Fig. 1, that is hearing against the index finger, it serves to positively confine the handle member in position on the fingers, and thereby preclude any possibility of displacement.

If it is desired to employ a hook or hook line grip the ring and little finger members are allowed to swing inwardly toward the palm of the hand. The thumb member is pulled away from the index finger member until sufiicient clearness is provided to permit of the outer phalanx being swung about the pivot 17, which allows the thumb memher to pass the index finger member and then engage the ring and little finger members to urge them against the palm of the hand and maintain them in this position. The index and middle finger members then constitute a hook or hook-like grip to be utilized as desired.

An important feature of my invention in practice is the relation of the index finger to the middle finger and the supplemental action of the thumb member to this relation. It is to be noted that the index finger memher is normally pressed against the middle finger member by the action of the spring 9, but it may be swung away from the middle finger member as by a pull on the cord 12. The motion in the event of a pull on the cord 1:2 is about an axis extending perpendicularly through the hand from the palm to the back thereof. After the index finger member has been pulled away from the middle finger member, any object such as a pencil. a newspaper, the rein of a horse harness or the like may be placed between the index and middle fingers and upon release of the pull will be effectively clasped therein. If the thumb is made to assume the position shown in Fig. 1 it will supplement the action of the spring 9 and consequently enhance the clasping action.

The features of construction, operation and arrangement of parts permit of many other usages and advantages too numerous to mention.

1. An artificial hand comprising a hand member, a middle finger member rigid therewith, an index finger member pivotally mounted on said hand to swing toward and away from said middle finger member on an axis extending perpendicularly through said hand member from the palm to the back thereof, spring means urging said index finger against said middle finger, ring and little finger members mounted for swinging movement from gripping to inoperative positions, and a thumb member mounted to swing transversely of said hand and having a pivoted end portion and spring means for urging said thumb member transversely of said hand.

2. An artificial hand comprising a hand member, a middle finger member rigid therevith, an index finger member pivotally mounted on said hand member to swing toward and away from said middle finger member on an axis extending perpendicularly through said hand member from the palm to the back thereof, spring means urging said index finger against said middle finger member, and a spring actuated thumb member adapted to be brought to bear against the outer side of said index finger member to supplement the action of said spring means;

3. An artificial hand comprising a hand member, a middle finger member rigid therewith, an index finger member pivotally mounted on said hand member, to swing toward and away from said middle finger member on an axis extending perpendicularly through said hand member from the palm to the back thereof, and spring means urging the said index finger against said middle finger, all as and for the purposes set forth.

4:. An artificial hand comprising a hollow hand member, a middle finger member rigid therewith, an index finger member mounted on said hand to swing toward and away from said middle finger on an axis extendin perpendicularly through said hand from the palm to the back thereof, said index finger member having an inner portion extending into the interior of said hand member be yond the pivot point of said finger and spring means abutting against the interior wall of said hand member and bearing against said inner portion of said index finger to urge said finger against said middle linger.

5. An artificial hand comprising a hollow hand member, a middle finger member rigid therewith, an index finger member mounted on said hand member to swing toward and away from said middle finger member on an axis extending perpendicularly through said hand member from the palm to the back thereof, said index finger member having an inner portion extending into the interior of said hand member beyond the pivot point of said finger, a blade spring having one end secured to the interior wall of said hand member, its intermediate portion bowed and its other end bearing against the inner portion of said index finger to urge said index finger against said middle finger member, all as and for the purposes set forth.

6. An artificial hand including a hand member, middle and index finger members, ring and little finger members mounted for swinging movement about an axis extending transversely of the palm of the hand and at right angles to the median line of the hand from gripping to inoperative positions and a spring urger thumb member adapted bearing against the top side of said ring and middle finger members to maintain said ring and little fingers in inoperative position.

7.. An artificial hand comprising ahand member, a middle finger member rigid there with, an index finger member pivotally mounted on said hand member to swing toward and away from said middle finger member on an axis extending perpendicularly through said hand member from the palm to the back thereof, spring means urging said index finger member against said middle finger member, and means for swinging said index finger member away from said middle finger member against the action of said spring means all as and for the purposes set forth.

ROBERT FRANCIS ARMSTRONG- 

